NurseryWise Childcare in England
Day nursery in West Malling

Bright Horizons Kings Hill Day Nursery and Preschool

Good★ 4.7 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established

A day nursery in West Malling for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2022. Open since 2015, with 129 places.

Call 01732 441118Their website

Cost

What you might pay

This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.

What childcare usually costs in Kent

£7.00an hour, typical for a 2 years old
£6.50an hour, typical for a 3 and 4 years old

This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Kent from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.

The basics

Places, hours and the day

Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.

Who they can take
Birth to 8+Registered from birth. Whether there is a baby room is a question for the call.
When it's open
08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a weekFrom their Google listing
Funded hours
Not published, so ask them
Google rating
4.7 out of 5From 36 Google reviews. NurseryWise has none of its own.
How many children
129 placesVery large for England
How long open
11 yearsLong established
Address
60 Gibson Drive, West Malling, ME19 4AN

Where it is

ME19 4AN
Ofsted URN EY492689On the register since 1 September 2015
Ofsted

What the inspector found

One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.

Ofsted has looked into 3 concerns about this setting. That means something was raised and Ofsted acted on it. It does not by itself say what was found — the documents do.

Ofsted inspector, 23 November 2022 · read the full report

What it is like to attend

Children settle quickly and show that they feel secure. They have strong bonds with their key person. Arrangements for children to move between rooms are effective. Children enjoy settling-in sessions, and staff share good information with each other to ensure that children continue to be happy at nursery.

Staff have a good knowledge of how to understand children's behaviour and support children well. They work closely with parents to provide a consistent approach. As a result, children begin to learn how to manage their own behaviour and feelings. Staff encourage turn taking and offer children warm praise and encouragement. Older children form close relationships and play cooperatively together. For example, they discuss who is taking on which role in their game of superheroes. Younger children contentedly play alongside each other.

The manager is aware of the significant impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children's opportunities. She has identified key areas for further support to include in the nursery curriculum. For example, they have put in place more help to aid children to develop their communication and language skills. Staff extend children's language well through conversation. For example, they help children to understand new words, such as 'repel' as they explore the magnets.

What Ofsted told them to improve

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:

- focus support for staff and provide more targeted development for all staff, to benefit the experiences for children further n develop the curriculum intent further so all staff have a clear understanding to enable children's learning to have a greater focus to help them make even more progress n support all staff to have a clear understanding of the curriculum intent so that their teaching is consistently focused on what they want children to learn.

  • 23 November 2022Good
  • 20 December 2017Good

Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.

Still missing for Bright Horizons Kings Hill Day Nursery and Preschool

  • What it costs
  • Funded hours
  • Youngest age taken
  • Meals
  • Nappies
  • Waiting list

No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.

Before you ring

What to ask them

None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.

  • What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
  • Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
  • Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
  • Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
  • Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Compare

Day nurseries within a couple of miles

This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.

St Thomas More Pre-School

Day nursery · St Thomas More Pre-School, St Thomas of Canterbury Centre, West Malling, ME19 6HN

GoodBirth to 5Open all day, usually 8am to 6pm26 placesOpen for decades
1.8 mi
5 min drive
01732 874559

Pick two or three to compare.

Everything here comes from Ofsted's published childcare register, under the Open Government Licence. Ratings are quoted exactly as Ofsted gave them, with their dates. Read the full Ofsted reports · How we put this together.

All childcare in West Malling